Art is a Bang!
by Twin Kats
Summary: AU A year into Naruto’s training trip with Jiraiya things go wrong and he’s captured by Akatsuki. Not too long after Naruto’s seal breaks does Deidara begin to receive strange memories. One thing leads to another…and soon Akatsuki is short two memembers.
1. Capture

_**Summary: **__AU // A year into Naruto's training trip with Jiraiya things go wrong and he's captured by Akatsuki. Not too long after Naruto's seal breaks does Deidara begin to receive strange images/memories. One thing leads to another…and soon Akatsuki is short two members…. // WARNING: MENTAL TORTURE, YOAI. THREESOME? FOCUS: Naru // Dei_

_WARNING: This story contains MENTAL TORTURE of Naruto. CHARACTER DEATH. Insanity. YAOI of the DeidaraSasori kind. THREESOME is also possible (and most likely). ALSO it switches focus. For the first part it focuses entirely on Naruto's time in Akatsuki's hold. The second part focuses on Deidara's past (entirely made-up/speculated and taken from various facts from Wikipedia and AbsoluteAnime) before it turns to the third part which focuses on Deidara (again) and will include Sasori at a slightly later time. ALSO NOTE THAT THIS IS AU!!!!_

_I INTEND TO DRAG THIS OUT AS LONG AS POSSIBLE and make the CHAPTERS as long as I can—without shortening the fic. This is actually one of the rare fics that I have a plot half-way formed._

_THIS FIC IS INSPIRED BY THE VIDEO: _**デイダラは大変なものを爆発していきました【うん】****by bgdushak **_ON YOUTUBE. I FOUND IT RANDOMLY when searching through the favorites of random users…it's pretty damn cool._

_ALSO: I have warned you of practically ANYTHING that would warrant a flame, I believe, so if I GET A FLAME DEPICTING SOMETHING FROM THIS WARNING THEN I WILL ULTIMATELY MOCK YOU!!! How, you ask? I posting your flame in the following chapter for all to see and then give comments and laugh my ass off, why? Because flamers need to seriously get a life when warnings are clearly given._

_If I get a flame from something not included in the warning I will consider it either criticism, or stupidity. Depends. If it is criticism, I will thank you. If it is stupidity I WILL MOCK YOU._

_YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED._

_This is the ONLY before chapter AN I will write (unless it is to mock someone) so now I present to you…__**Art is a Bang!**_

_**Art is a Bang!  
**__**Capture**_

Naruto groaned and flopped onto the ground, one orange covered arm coming up to cover his eyes from the glaring sun.

"Baka ero-sennin," Naruto grumbled while breathing heavily. "Goes and wanders off…leaving me to train on my own…baka."

It had been a year since Naruto left on his training trip with Jiraiya the Gama-Sannin. It had been a year since Sasuke shoved his fist through Naruto's left lung in an attempt to kill the young jinchuuriki. It had been a year since Naruto failed to keep his promise to Sakura.

"Ah hell," he muttered irritably, forcing himself to stand. "I just have to train harder…get better than Sasuke-teme so that I can beat and drag his avenge ridden ass back to Konoha…." Forming a cross shaped seal he called out, "_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!_" creating nine clones, three of which went to practice tree-walking, another three water-walking on the nearby stream, and another three to practice keeping a leaf stuck to thier forehead while fighting purely taijutsu. He himself in the meantime began to once more do pushups, sit-ups, squats, and other such physical fitness exercises.

So intent on his training regime that Jiraiya had set for him before disappearing to the town nearby the gaze at the woman in the bathhouses for 'research' he didn't notice his clones dispersing or that he wasn't alone anymore, until a voice called out.

"_Katsu!_"

The next thing Naruto knew was an explosion of earth and pain.

…

Naruto coughed, staggering out of a medium sized crater where he stood previously, his injuries already healed over by Kyuubi. He straightened and almost immediately his eyes widened at the sight of four black coats with red clouds.

Two he recognized were Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigake Kisame. The other two were obscured by straw hats with dangling bells. One he could see had blonde hair like him; the other was hunched over and had a tail swinging behind the cloak.

Naruto quickly formed the familiar cross shaped seal as he called out, "_Taijuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!_" forcing the entire area he was in to be surrounded by clones, effectively hiding him in their masses. With a roar they leapt to attack the Akatsuki members as the real Naruto started to make an escape attempt, knowing that he wasn't a match for any of the Akatsuki members. It'd be better if he could get Jiraiya…and quickly.

Unfortunately his clones didn't exactly last a chance and he didn't get far as Itachi's voice clearly called out, "_Amaterasu!_" and black flames engulfed every one of his clones.

Kisame suddenly came from his right, his sword Samehada swinging down. Naruto barely dodged in time. He landed beside a pale brown spider and Kisame smirked as he leapt back.

"_Katsu!_" was called out again as Naruto's only warning before the tree he landed on blew up, knocking him into another tree. Itachi threw several kunai and shuriken out at Naruto's collapsed form. Several hit the dazed genin as he attempted to dodge haphazardly.

Still slightly dazed from the explosion he didn't notice the person come up from behind him. He was grabbed harshly, a sword held at his neck and a kunai against his side, next to his heart. Naruto stiffened, not knowing who this new person was.

Several wires shot out and wrapped around his tense form held still by the blade and kunai threatening to kill him. A few wrapped around his mouth, several around his torso and arms holding them tightly in place, while several more bound his legs. His eyes shot open wide as he felt himself yanked backwards and into an enclosed space. The last thing he saw before complete darkness was the two arms (that looked mechanical, giving Naruto the idea that he was in a puppet, not a _person_) lowering. Then the panel that was open snapped shut and Naruto couldn't see a thing.

"Why did Leader-sama send us four to retrieve him?" he heard Kisame asked with a near whine.

"Think," Itachi's voice sounded. "If Jiraiya were here and not at the bathhouse than we would've had much more of a problem."

"Well, either way, he was an easy catch, Kisame-danna, yeah," spoke someone he didn't recognize. "Nice puppet by the way, Sasori-danna, yeah. Is it new?"

"Hai," a deep raspy voice replied.

"Hmm…well then, I guess I'll have to think of a new sculpture to combat it, yeah! After all, art is a bang!"

"Art is everlasting beauty," the raspy voice replied.

"We don't have time for your bickering," Itachi's voice stated clearly. "We have to move before Jiraiya appears."

"Itachi's right," Kisame spoke up.

"Hai, Kisame-danna. Let's go then, yeah."

That was the last Naruto heard as a slight hissing sound reached his ears and he fell into unconsciousness.

…

When Naruto woke up his vision was hazy and he felt extremely dizzy.

"Wha—" he muttered as he sat up. He tried to raise a hand to his head but found that he couldn't as they were tied behind his back. His feet also were tightly bound but he noticed he was sitting on a bed.

Blinking to clear his vision he took notice of the room he was in. It was dull. There were only stone walls surrounding him. The only thing in the room besides a light was the bed, a chair nearby and two doors leading out. One of them opened and a red haired young faced man entered the room dressed in an Akatsuki cloak.

"Hmm…and here I thought that sleeping agent would keep you out for a bit longer," the red head stated. "I guess I underestimated the recovery abilities of a jinchuuriki."

"Temee…" Naruto growled.

The red head just stared blankly at him for a moment before turning to leave. He paused at the door he entered from momentarily to say, "Deidara will be by to bring you some food later. I suggest you eat it…who knows when your next meal may be."

He opened the door and left, the door shutting calmly behind him.

"K'so," Naruto muttered irritably. He shifted slightly to lean back against the stone wall the bed pushed up against. "This is just perfect," he growled. "Kidnapped by Akatsuki…gah, I won't hear the end of it when Ero-sennin breaks me out…."

He scowled irritably and turned his gaze up to the ceiling.

'_I wonder what they'll do with me now…'_

…

True to the red head's words someone did come with food—the blonde he assumed that had been there with Itachi and Kisame. His hair hung over his left eye and some of it was pulled into a large ponytail that was situated on the top of his head. The rest trailed down his back. In fact he looked oddly feminine for a guy—and Naruto knew he was a guy when he spoke.

"Konnichiwa, Naruto-kun," the blonde said, carrying a tray of sushi and some noodle soup. "I'm Deidara, yeah."

Naruto watched him warily as the blonde walked towards Naruto's tied up form. He set the tray down on the side of the bed before motioning for Naruto to come closer. Naruto did no such thing.

"Ah come on, Naruto-kun," Deidara said with a slight smile, "I need to untie you so that you can eat, yeah. But don't think of escaping, Kisame-danna and Sasori-danna are guarding the door, yeah. Itachi-san is down the hallway also, yeah."

Naruto still didn't budge.

"Oi, aren't you hungry, yeah?" Deidara asked. Naruto's stomach growled and the nuke-nin smirked. "If you want the food you need to trust me, yeah."

"I don't trust you," Naruto growled.

"As you shouldn't, yeah," Deidara replied, smirk still in place.

"What are you going to do with me?" Naruto demanded.

"Nothing for now, yeah," Deidara grinned. "I suggest that you let me untie you so you can eat, yeah. The food isn't poisoned. Sasori-danna was nowhere near the kitchen, and neither was Itachi-san, yeah. Kisame-danna made the food."

Naruto still didn't move and Deidara sighed irritably. "If you want to eat you'll come here so I can untie you, got it, gaki?" he growled.

Swallowing Naruto warily moved closer to Deidara who grinned.

"About time, yeah," was all the nuke-nin said as he leaned over the bed towards Naruto, his hands coming to untie the blonde jinchuuriki's. Naruto noticed the mouths on his hands and jerked away suddenly. Deidara frowned. "Now I'm trying to help you here, yeah."

"You're not natural," Naruto muttered, staring at his hands. "_That_ is not natural."

Deidara frowned and said, "Now that's not nice, yeah. I won't hurt you, Naruto-kun. If you want I'll cover my hands, yeah."

Naruto said nothing and Deidara rolled his visible eye; reaching into a pocket on his pants and pulling out two leather gloves. He pulled them onto his hands and held up his palms, showing that the mouths were covered.

"Now come here so I can untie you and you can eat, yeah."

Warily Naruto moved closer and Deidara reached behind him, swiftly undoing the knots before pulling away, the rope in his hand. He pushed the tray closer to Naruto who noticed that there were chopsticks present with the meal. Deidara backed away and sat down onto the only chair in the room and watched him with a bored expression. Naruto stared back.

After five minutes Deidara rolled his visible eye again and stated, "Eat the damn food before it gets cold, gaki." That seemed to get Naruto moving, although slowly. He reached for the chopsticks and picked up one of the sushi, sniffing it for a moment before taking a careful bite. Deidara grinned. "Much better, yeah. The sooner you finish the sooner I can leave you, yeah. Wouldn't that make you happy?"

Eyeing Deidara warily Naruto continued to eat. Deidara decided to make a one-sided conversation as Naruto ate the food slowly.

"You know I didn't think you'd be so easy to get, yeah. The way Leader-sama made it sound it seemed like we'd be fighting for several hours, not minutes, yeah. Of course that was if Jiraiya-san was there, yeah. Thankfully he wasn't ne, Naruto-kun? It made it much easier to capture you I'll say, yeah."

Naruto ignored him for the most part, though he flushed red from slight anger he held his tongue.

"I bet you're wondering who I am, yeah. I know you've met Itachi-san and Kisame-danna before when they were sent to capture you at first, yeah. I'm Deidara, ex-Iwa-nin and terrorist bomber. I specialize in explosives, yeah. Art is a bang after all, and my sculptures are art, yeah. You've met Sasori-danna, right? He's the red head, yeah. Sasori-danna is annoying for a partner," Deidara muttered this last part, "but makes for a great conversationalist, yeah. His views on art though are screwed up. Art is eternal? Pah, art is a bang, yeah!"

Deidara smirked as he noticed Naruto finished.

"Done already, yeah? Well then, I have to tie your hands again before I leave, yeah. Precautions, you know. Don't want you escaping, yeah."

Deidara stood and moved towards the blonde jinchuuriki again who moved away. He frowned slightly before grinning as he picked up the tray and set it on the ground.

"I'm not going to hurt you, yeah. I just need to tie you up for now, yeah. At least until we're sure you won't escape, yeah." Naruto scooted away as Deidara neared. Smirking slightly Deidara's hand snaked out, grabbed Naruto's arm, before yanking the blonde jinchuuriki towards himself. Quickly he tied the jinchuuriki's hands tightly again before stepping away. Naruto suddenly felt woozy and fell to his side into unconsciousness a second later, Deidara's voice echoing in his head before he finally lost all awareness.

"Nothing to worry about, yeah. Just a sleeping agent to make sure you'll be easier to handle, yeah. Goodnight, Naruto-kun."

With that the darkness engulfed him.

…

_I can't think of anything else soooo…yeah, the chapter ends here. So sorry._

_Now, I know, I know, you're thinking…why is she posting this? Is she finished with it already? Answer is NO. I'm posting it for the simple fact that my account has been…lagging to say the least. I need something to keep my readers busy, ne? Also since I've been having such terrible writers block with my __**priority**__ stories I decided I'll just post this to keep you guys occupied for now._

_THAT MEANS DO NOT EXPECT REGURLAR UPDATES!!! They will be sporadic, __**very **__sporadic._

_Also note: Deidara's way of speaking is HARD to write. I tried using "un" like he says in the Japanese anime, but it just wasn't working, so I put in "yeah" instead which I read he uses in the American version (manga, I think?) even then "yeah" sounded awkward in some places. I tried not to overdue it, but this is honestly my first time writing Deidara's character. Hints and tips will be helpful (and life savors) so comments are __**really**__ appreciated._

_I believe I said there will be a possible threesome. Why I say there will be a possible threesome…? Simply because I don't exactly see Deidara as __**just**__ a gay guy. I can see him going both ways, in fact I can see him leaning more towards woman then men, but I'm a __**yaoi**__ addict so I had to include it in here, thus the threesome that will be between Deidara, Sasori, and a third unknown… (another fact is that simply…Sasori's a fricken __**puppet**__. How the hell can one have sex with a __**puppet!?**__ I like the pair, I really do…I just have no idea on how Sasori could get off on sex if he's living in basically a faux body, so thus my lovely Dei-kun is bi)_

_Alright, I think I made my AN's long enough. They're basically the same length as the chapter put together…I'll stop rambling now._

_Remember, __**review**__, for it makes for one very happy authoress. Also, ideas on how this can go while Naruto is in captivity is helpful—there are some things that I have already planned, but it's only just general ideas. Help is much appreciated._

_TK  
__Twin Kats_

_Date Posted: __**1/26/08  
**__Edited: __**??? (unedited/beta'd)  
**__Sites Posted: __**FFN (for now)  
**__Next Update: __**??? (TBD)**_


	2. Misjudge

_**This chapter is dedicated to my ONLY two reviewers thus far: **__ddd __**(MY FIRST REVIEWER) and **__dragonfire04__**. THANK YOU FOR YOUR REVIEWS.**_

_**Art is a Bang!  
**__**Misjudge**_

Naruto groaned and lifted his head slightly, looking out into the room through hazy vision. He had no clue the time of day or even how long he had been in confinement here at the Akatsuki base. Wherever here was, at least; he didn't know that either.

The only way he could tell some semblance of time was when meals were brought to him, but even then it wasn't very reliable as he seemed to always fall unconscious soon after eating. He wasn't ever sure what day or time it was when he awoke, nor did he know how long he'd been out. Sometimes his muscles were stiff and sore and his body heavy—other times he felt slightly energetic or exhausted. It depended.

He was allowed the chance to bathe and use the necessities when nature called. That happened every two to three meals. Every four to six meals he was allowed a chance to take a shower—he was wary at first but he soon grew to enjoy the rare times he could bathe and feel clean once more. It was also one of the rare times where his legs were unbound; otherwise they were bound practically every moment of the day.

Sometimes he could hardly walk to the bathroom when released, his feet and legs having gone numb over the period of disuse and being squished next to one another at the ankles. Either Sasori or Kisame—the ones who usually took him to the bathroom—would during the instances of his feet being numb force him to hobble about unsteadily. Sasori said it was to bring blood flowing through the veins there once more as that was what led to the numbness.

Sasori also said that Kyuubi was the only thing keeping him from losing a limb or getting malnourished or ill during his stay at the base. Kyuubi's constant healing and circulation of chakra saw to that.

When he'd shower he'd get both his hands and feet free but he soon found out that he couldn't mold chakra outside his body at all while in the room. When he'd tried to attack using purely taijutsu against Deidara when the nin was aloud to take him to the shower he didn't get any favorable results. In fact he only got insulted.

If he remembered correctly the conversation flow during his punches and kicks with Deidara's continually dodges and blocks went something along the lines of:

"_Naruto-kun o taijutsu heta, un? Ore mo…." (Naruto-kun you're unskilled/lousy at taijutsu, yeah? Me too/I'm the same way….)_

_Punch. Punch. Kick._

_Dodge. Block. Block._

"_Ussai temee!" (Shut up bastard!)_

_Kick. Kick. Punch._

_Block. Dodge. Dodge._

"_Naruto-kun o tsumetai desu…" (Naruto-kun is cold…)_

_Punch. Kick. Punch._

_Block. Dodge. Duck._

"_Ussai!" (Shut up!)_

"_Ussai ja nee, un." (I will not shut up, yeah)_

_Punch. Punch. Punch. Kick._

_Duck. Dodge. Block. Swerve._

"_Dame desu." (It's no good/It won't do)_

"_Ussai!" (Shut up!)_

_Kick. Kick. Kick._

_Dodge. Dodge. Block._

"_Dame da yo Naruto-kun, un." (Stop it Naruto-kun, yeah)_

_Kick. Punch. Kick._

_Dodge. Grab. Block._

"_Hanase!" (Let go!)_

"_Iie." (No)_

_Struggle._

"_Mattaku mou, un!" (Honestly, yeah! "__**Mattaku mou**__"__** is an exasperated expression)**_

"_Korosu!" (I'm going to kill you!)_

_Struggle._

_Tighten._

"_Iindarou ka, un?" (That'd be great, wouldn't it, yeah?)_

_Release._

"…_ittai?" (…the hell?)_

"_Take your shower, bakagitsune." (bakagitsune—idiot kitsune/fox)_

_(NOTE: I believe the above sentences are correct, I may be making mistakes though so…correct me if I did, onegai? I will also ask a friend who is taking classes but that might be after I post…)_

Left entirely confused after the encounter Naruto took his shower. Just before his customary sleep that followed afterwards (he suspected there was drugs in the water as well) he realized he had been insulted.

"Temee," Naruto growled under his breath. Given taijutsu was one of his weaknesses—it had slowly gotten better over the course of the year training he was able to receive from Jiraiya—he still couldn't help but feel his pride insulted, especially after the nuke-nin said he was terrible at taijutsu himself.

The jinchuuriki could hear the door open and then shut—it made him wince at the loud sound. His gaze was still unfocused and he suspected that was due to the drugs.

"Konnichiwa, Naruto-kun," was voiced and he winced. It seemed to echo in his head. The plate was set down on the side of the bed again and his hands untied. He did not move; instead he opted to stare in the direction of the hazy figure, trying to discern who it was.

The form blurred in and out of focus. Most of the time the form was a mass of color, the top half being blonde that slowly blended down into a reddish black color. When the form came into some focus he could tell the blonde was hair but that was all, really.

"'Nade-baba," Naruto mumbled before wincing. His throat was parched and his own voice hurt him more than the others.

"Oi! Are you going to eat, yeah?"

Naruto didn't respond except to wince. The mass of color moved slightly closer to him.

"Naruto-kun? Dou shitanda?" _(What's wrong?)_

Naruto winced again.

"Oi! Sasori-danna!" the voice suddenly yelled out. "Something's wrong, yeah!"

The door opened again and another mass of color entered the room.

"Ittai nani?" another voice questioned. _(What the hell do you want?)_

"Something's wrong with the brat, yeah!"

"Nanda?" the second asked. _(What do you mean?)_

"He's just staring into space and wincing at every noise…"

"K'so!"

"What's wrong, Sasor-danna, yeah?"

"That last drug seems to have reacted unexpectedly…"

"Nanto iimasu ka?" _(What are you saying?)_

"It's not mixing well with him, ahou." _(Idiot)_

"Naruhodo…" _(I see…)_

There was a pause before an indignant cry of; "Horaa!" from the first speaker rang out. _(Hey!)_

"Ussai ahou!" _(Shut up idiot!)_

"Eh heh heh heh…Sasori-danna kowai desu, un…." _(Eh heh heh heh…Master Sasori is scary, yeah…)_

"I'm going to need to find out what went wrong…" Naruto let out a hoarse cry as pain shot up his arm. "Watch him, Deidara."

"Hai!"

The next thing Naruto knew was blissful unconsciousness.

…

When Naruto awoke his vision was back to normal; the sight he awoke to, however…

"Gah!"

…was not normal.

"Feel better, yeah?" Deidara asked, stepping away and pulling himself upright.

Naruto just glared, pushing himself into a sitting position and crossing his legs calmly.

Then he froze, one hand coming up to his mouth as he shot of the bed and towards the bathroom. He fell in an ungracious heap beside the toilet and let up anything that was in his stomach. Deidara watched him heave silently, a little green himself.

"Sasori-danna said that might happen, yeah," Deidara stated. "Seems the latest sedative didn't coincide well with a jinchuuriki, yeah."

Naruto coughed as the last of the need to empty his stomach left him.

"Come on, gaki, I've got some food for you. Nothing heavy though, yeah. You need to rest your stomach for a while, yeah."

Deidara stalked forward, gripped Naruto's arm tightly and pulled him up and back towards the room with the bed. A tray of soup sat on the chair as he was roughly put onto the bed, legs tied again. Deidara picked up the tray and handed it to him. Naruto only stared at it before turning his gaze to the ceiling, lying on his back and ignoring Deidara and the food.

"Are you or are you not going to eat, yeah?" Deidara demanded. Naruto didn't answer. Gritting his teeth Deidara walked forward, placed his hands beside the tray and leaned over so that his face was over Naruto's. "Naruto-kun, you need to eat, yeah. That last sedative did a number on your system, yeah."

"Why eat if you'll only drug me?" Naruto demanded.

"It at least keeps your strength up!" Deidara snapped. "You won't become weak and frail if you eat, yeah! So what if we drug you?! If it keeps you quiet then we do it, yeah! Now eat!"

Naruto gazed at Deidara for a moment before saying, "No."

"Argh!" Deidara let out a strangled yell, pulled back and glared at Naruto. "Should I get Itachi-san or Sasori-danna in here then, yeah?"

"I won't eat."

"Bakagitsune!" Deidara snarled before snatching the tray and storming out of the room, muttering obscenities under his breath.

Naruto didn't know if he should be happy he didn't eat or swearing at himself for making him go hungry.

He decided to ignore both thoughts and just stare at the ceiling.

He didn't notice his hands were untied.

Eventually he fell into a slightly fitful sleep.

…

When Naruto awoke next his hands were tied once more and he was lying on his side yet again.

He denied the food and once more fell into a fitful slumber.

This went on two more times before he awoke in the same position he'd fallen asleep in. He was hungry, so very hungry and was beginning to curse his refusal to eat.

That was the first time _he_ showed up.

The Leader of Akatsuki.

Pein.

…

_Alright, this is where this chapter ends. Next chapter I have some idea for, but I don't know when I'll type it or post._

_I was severely disappointed once I posted. I got only __**5**__ story alerts and of those __**5 **__**NO ONE **__reviewed._

_I am happy for the fav's though. Thank you so much __**PhoenixChamer116, **__**demoneyeskyoko**__, and __**amgisice**_

_And BTW I put in the Japanese sentences 'cause it sounded better than me putting in the English ones for some reason…and it took me about an HOUR to get them sounding right (and I think they're grammatically correct too, I'm unsure, though)_

_Well, here's chappy two._

_TK  
__Twin Kats_

_Date Posted: __**1/2808  
**__Edited: __**2/06/07 (STILL unedited/beta'd...I just saw a tiny few things that the upload manager screwed up...some things getting scrunched together, and fixed that)  
**__Sites Posted: __**FFN (for now)  
**__Next Update: __**??? (TBD)  
**__Next Chapter: __**Pein **__**(is subject to change…I changed this chapter title THREE times)**_


	3. Pein

_**I am…amazed…at all these wonderful responses. This chapter shall be dedicated to **__Valkyrie Nienna Helyanwe __**and **__Coral Q's bff.__** The former for bringing me many things to think about. The latter for getting me up and off my ass to do the necessary research to be able get this chapter typed.**_

_**Art is a Bang!  
**__**Pein**_

The third day Naruto refused to eat he awoke to an unfamiliar sight.

He blinked slowly, as if this were a dream.

Closing his eyes for a minute he opened them yet again, just as slowly as he had blinked.

Nope, the faded form of a person was still there.

"How good of you to join the realm of the living once more, Naruto-kun," a deep, cultivated, and slightly sensual voice rang out from the faded form that currently held its back to him. Naruto wouldn't admit it for the life of him, but that voice made him shiver, and it wasn't completely from fear, either (which a part of him felt disgusted at, though he had to admit, whoever the hell this was they obviously would not have problems with the ladies) "Though, it worries me that you won't eat," the form continued, not even turning to face him.

Naruto just lay in silence, staring at the faded form, taking in any and all details he could.

The figure obviously wore an Akatsuki cloak—the cloud like formations on it being the obvious dead give-away—that was not spanned in Akatsuki colors, but rather a weird form of blue/grey. The edges of the person blurred and contorted slightly and every now and then the figure's form wavered, as if it wasn't really there. The high collar blocked anything else below the ears from Naruto's view, though the sight of the state of his ears made him shiver.

Whoever put that many wholes in their body had a _serious_ problem. There at least had to be what—five, ten, bands around his ears? Never mind the bar that went from the top of the ear, to the bottom—and as if it wasn't freaky enough Naruto could tell even from here that they went through the cartilage. The final thing that was visible to Naruto was the figure's hair, which also was in the same blue/grey coloring as the rest of his form; the person's hair stuck up in a uniquely spiked way that looked too surreal to be natural. _No one_ that had that much of a badass looking hair style had it naturally, Naruto was sure.

"Do you think you will continue living even if you don't eat because you're a jinchuuriki, Naruto-kun? Or do you think your precious village will free you soon?" No response was necessary for this man to know Naruto's feelings on that, seeing as they practically _saturated_ the air. "Pathetic," the man scoffed.

Naruto glared.

"You will die if you do not eat, Naruto-kun, for Kyuubi itself cannot live without food," the man stated, "and the hope you have for a rescue…? Abandon it. No one is coming for you…after all; you're just a _demon,_ ne?" The man turned his head slightly, piercing Naruto with a one-eyed frightening gaze that, unlike the rest of the image, was not blue/grey but a dark shade of red.

That wasn't what only freaked Naruto out about the eye, though. No, what freaked Naruto out more so…was the circular ring that surrounded the pupil, with another ring after that, still in the iris, and then several more rings after that, in the whites of his eyes.

Whoever this man was, Naruto knew, instinctively, that he was not normal, even by shinobi standards.

"Eat, Naruto-kun," the man said, a slow half-smirk seen on his lips as he spoke. "It would not do well for our precious bundle to die of starvation…and if you don't eat…well…" the man paused here, a sinister glint in his eye, "…let's just say that you won't like the consequences."

Naruto's eyes widened and he swallowed instinctively.

"Ja, for now, Naruto-kun," the man said, gave a small, slight, backwards wave of his hand, and vanished completely from sight.

Naruto stared in shock where he was moments ago, and briefly he wondered if this was all just some bizarre dream that his mind had concocted from a chakra-exhausted haze. After all…one couldn't just randomly vanish out of the room and not open the door. The fact that the man sent shivers down his spine and his ghost-like appearance did not help matters.

If at all, it made them worse.

Naruto fell into a fitful slumber filled with those disturbing, ringed, red eyes.

…

Naruto awoke with a start when a door opened. His fitful slumber did not ease his mind or rest him well enough as he had liked. It had only made him jumpy. Tilting his head and body slightly to view the door he saw his most regular visitor, the blonde known as Deidara.

Deidara shut the door behind him with a foot as he walked towards the tense and very alert Naruto, a tray of food in his (fortunately gloved) hands. The blonde Akatsuki-nin set the tray down on the chair and turned to face the wary and tense form of Naruto. All the blonde did was raise an eyebrow slightly at the tense form, but he said nothing. Naruto wasn't sure if that unnerved him more than how a talkative and slightly untactful blonde Deidara did.

Calmly the blonde Akatsuki-nin walked over to Naruto's form and undid the bindings on his ankles and wrists. He backed up, only slightly, but Naruto didn't move, watching the Akatsuki-nin like a hawk, or maybe more like a hunted, panicked, animal. The blonde raised his other eyebrow, this one unseen as it was under his bang, but yet again, said nothing. Instead he moved back towards Naruto and gripped his arm tightly, pulling the blonde jinchuuriki up and dragging him to the door to the bathroom. He opened it and shoved the blonde inside. Deidara made no move to enter the bathroom at all, instead standing in the doorway calmly as ever.

When Naruto didn't move, just stared, all he got was a piercing, slightly killer intent filled, one-eyed blue gaze in response. The piercing look in the blonde's eye made Naruto immediately remember the same look coming from the definitely-not-normal man who had those freaky, ringed, red eyes. The blonde shivered unconsciously and stood slowly. Carefully he went about doing his business, all the while being watched under that dark, piercing stare.

Once he had showered and used the toiletries, Deidara grabbed his arm again and led the silent, ever-so-slightly freaked-out, Naruto back into the room. He tossed the jinchuuriki on the bed and retied his ankles before moving and grabbing the tray of the chair. He set it on the bed and stepped away, watching Naruto intently.

Naruto just stared at the bowl of soup before him, his mind immediately going back to what the strange shinobi had said.

"…_if you don't eat…well…let's just say that you won't like the consequences."_

Currently in Naruto's heightened paranoia state (and he hated it, frankly) he felt as if those disturbing eyes were piercing him again with that hard, slightly sinister, look.

"Eat."

Naruto needed no more prompting than that.

…

Naruto shifted on the bed and sighed. They hadn't drugged his food in the recent days they had been feeding him, for which he was both thankful and unthankful for. He was thankful for it because now he had some sort of semblance of time passing (though it was crude and not very reliable—his meals were brought during what seemed like _day-long_ intervals) and yet he was unthankful for it for the simple fact was that he didn't have the drugs to pull him into a dreamless sleep.

No, instead he rested slightly fitful. Sometimes it was better than others and he felt more refreshed, other times it felt as if he hadn't slept at all. Those times were the worst. Those times were when the _damnable eye_ appeared in his dreams; staring at him, _piercing him_, with its cold, _sadistic_, gaze—the fact that it was unusual and down right disturbing didn't help matters along. Then there was the fact that only Deidara had entered his room since, and the blonde Akatsuki-nin would not speak a word except to tell him to eat, and even then, it was only one word—eat.

Naruto closed his eyes and shifted again, trying to will himself to sleep.

"How have you been, Naruto-kun?"

The blonde's blue eyes snapped open and immediately caught the one gaze he was beginning to fear.

The dark, _sadistically_, gazing, ringed red eye.

The man was back.

That was the only thing he could think of at the moment.

The. Man. Was. Back.

…

He chuckled slightly as his only visible eye, seeing as he had his back turned to the blonde jinchuuriki, held the boy's gaze in a frightening grip. The blonde couldn't tear his eyes away, even if he wanted to. He just _couldn't_.

It was another thing to add to the newly started 'freaky things about the freaky eye' list.

"I hear you are eating," the man continued casually, acting for all the world oblivious to the fact that he held the blonde's gaze so tightly. The only give-away that he knew was that he didn't turn away, only continued to keep eye contact. "That is good, Naruto-kun…though I had hoped you would still refuse. We do rarely get anything fun to do around here, after all…" a damnable smirk twitched at the man's lips, quirking them slightly—or at least the part of them the blonde could see.

"I'm sure you have noticed the lack of sedatives lately," the man continued on. "The only reason for it, Naruto-kun, is that your body needs time to recuperate from the mishap we had no more than a week ago. I must thank you, though," the smirk grew, "you are helping us considerably, even if you are unaware of it." The blonde shivered and the man's smirk lessened somewhat as he noted the dark spots underneath the blonde's lower lids. "Have you not been sleeping well?" the man asked but was given no response in return.

The man frowned now, but his eye did not match the frown. In fact it seemed to glow with some strange emotion as the man asked, "Are you having nightmares?" The blonde didn't tense any more than he already was and the strange emotion grew to take a knowing glint. He knew, the blonde realized, he knew what was causing him less sleep than normal. "Well…if you ever want to talk about them," the man said, turning his body slightly to stand sideways and more inline with the direction his head faced, "I'm more than willing to listen. After all…you will soon come to find that I can be most…_understanding_ than many of the others here."

When the blonde did not reply the man let out a soft sigh, though the glint in his eye grew even stronger, and said, "Well then. I'll leave you alone, seeing as I have other matters to attend to for now. I do hope you are enjoying your stay, Naruto-kun. Ja."

The man disappeared entirely and the blonde lowered his gaze to the ground, eyes wide and filled with an unknown emotion; an unknown emotion he was familiar with.

Fear.

…

Several more days passed, if Naruto was judging right, and he was slowly being allowed solid food. His nights had been a bit more restful since the man's second visit, but Naruto knew that would change in time. It would only be a short while until he was having those restless nights once more because, after all, he didn't have the best of luck lately.

In fact, with how Naruto's luck was running, he was almost absolutely sure that the freaky eyed guy would show up again soon.

The thing was though, he didn't know which scared him more—being in the man's 'presence' or facing the nightmares filled with the disturbing, ringed, red eye—and that made him even more on edge than before.

Being in the man's presence was tough, especially if he held eye contact again throughout the entire conversation—Naruto wasn't sure if he could handle that without lapsing into nightmare induced dreams the minute the man left—but the nightmares would slowly take their toll on his body—and eventually on his mind, he realized.

He didn't know why, but the idea of this weird psycho of a man actually getting beneath his skin with just a look—given it was a very _freaky_ look—made him feel oddly…inadequate; like he was failing his village, his friends…and he didn't like that idea one bit.

Resolve flooded his veins and he decided, then and there, to try and fight back. He would not let that eye and the nightmares or even that man get to him. He was Uzumaki fucking Naruto. He would get out of this, _alive_, and he would get out of it, _sane_.

For some reason, deeply in his gut, he had a feeling that wouldn't be the case. He quickly shoved that thought into the immediate dark recesses of his mind and promptly forgot about it.

He would fight back, and he would win. He would not let this creep take him down and he'd be _damned_ if the man actually did make him crack.

No. He wouldn't; he wouldn't crack. He'd get through this, and he'd win.

Unfortunately for him, it would not be so relatively simple. In fact, it would be much, much harder than he thought.

After all, how can one survive against a man who knew the very intricate details of his everyday life? How can one survive against a man who knew what buttons to push, and which ones to break?

Naruto didn't know this, and so Naruto didn't know how hard it would be.

Naruto didn't even know that he was already in the man's trap—that he was already within the tight grasp of that man and his freaky, ringed, red eyes.

He didn't know that the man had him eating out of the palm of his hand, and so, he didn't know how much danger he was truly in, nor the terrible trials he'd have to face to even remotely come out of this entire ordeal unscathed.

The man had him right where he wanted him. It would only be a matter of time.

It would only be a matter of time until Naruto broke under the man's will.

After all, Pein was an expert on Uzumaki Naruto, and the leader of the most feared organization in existence thus far.

Truly Naruto was trapped in the proverbial spider's web, and it would only be a matter of time before he was bound so tightly in the cocoon of silk that there was no escape.

And then, once Naruto was so deeply bound, Pein would crush him.

The boy was just a jinchuuriki; just a means to his goal, and that was all that mattered.

…

_Okay, since so little is known about Pein, I entirely winged this chapter and his character. In fact…I kinda like him like this. Whatever he's like in the reality of the Naruto 'verse is probably infinitely more cool than the way I've characterized him, but meh. This is the way things will be, and the way it shall stay._

_I thank you all for the alerts and fav's, it made me one happy authoress._

_I especially loved the positive feedback, and sincerely hope I did not disappoint with this chapter._

_Now that that is over I must let you know, I have __**no bloody idea**__ what to do for the next chapter. I am, in all honesty, following a half-formed, vaguely written (as in just major time-frames and events that shall happen) plot. Everything else leading up to the major events is entirely eluding me. To be honest I'm trying to build a background into this story—build character development (sorta, but as you can probably see, that is not my strong point…I seriously need to work on character development) and so far the entire thing is being a pain in the rear end._

_Like I have said before, I wing most of the stuff I write—there is no plot when they usually start out, and if there is, it's so vague that it changes…a lot. As for the no-plot started stories…they tend to develop some form of a plot and then become overgrown weeds and get entirely out of control. I suffer severely from this, I am sad to admit. I also suffer from the unfortunate ability to never be able to finish something I start…I honestly, in all of my time of living, have finished four things that are not school related. Two of them were chaptered fanfics (one of which came back and bit me in the ass as the nasty muse for that one came up with more ruddy ideas and so I had formed a four-part series or something…) the other two things that I have been able to finish were two games: Myst III Exile and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets._

_I suck. I really, really, suck at finishing things—this does not deter me though, as you can see I __**have**__ finished things before…it's just a very small number and very scattered._

_Well, I'm done ranting. I hope you enjoyed._

_TK  
__Twin Kats_

_Date Posted: __**2/06/08  
**__Edited: __**??? (unedited/beta'd)  
**__Sites Posted: __**FFN (for now)  
**__Next Update: __**??? (TBD—due to the issues over ideas for the next chapter, do not expect an update for a long while; of course, I may just randomly get inspiration and pop the next chapter out in a few days…which tends to happen sometimes, but with my current streak luck, it's not going to happen)  
**__Next Chapter: __**??? (TBD—as in I have NO fricken idea as to what shall happen next—I know where it shall lead…I just don't know how to get there and drag this out at the same time…I tend to rush things…and I don't like rushing things)**_


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